Saturday, August 16, 2008

Wired has a gallery on Mike Stimpson, a programmer who recreates historic photos using LEGOs, then takes photos of them. While the recreations are pretty neat, it's sometimes eerie seeing those plastic smiley faces looking so happy during what originally were times of crisis.

i threw out a lot about 4 years ago and i threw out a lot this past week, so this isn't everything. i drew so much, it's almost obvious that i should've been an artist at an early age. to think i was pursuing genetic engineering.

how and when did you know that you wanted to be an artist? animator? designer? whatever it is that you do?

i saw this documentary on pitchfork.tv today. its there for a week. these are the most adorable dorks in the world. dancing around to lots and lots of bleeps and bloops. everything has a scene now. you can officially be "so scene" by playing gameboy on a stage and dropping a backbeat to it.this is infectious stuff, and i think a bunch of you will, and probably already do, enjoy 'chiptunes'.

Now unfortunately, they only archive a few months back. That or its new. If it is not new, than these links may be dead after a few months. Even still, new content will surely be added. So enjoy them now when you can! Here are some of my favorites.

Over 100 slaughtered pigs are offered to King George Tupou V during the taumafa kava ritual and coronation ceremony in the sacred Pangai Lahi gathering area of Nuku'alofa on July 30, 2008. (Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty Images)

Visitors swim in a pool at the scenic spot called Salt Lake, also known as China's Dead Sea, at Penglai Township in Dayin County of southwest China's Sichuan province Saturday, July 12, 2008. Officials said Sunday that tourists can now travel safely to Sichuan's scenic spots, apart from those in 30 counties seriously affected by the May 12 earthquake. (AP Photo/Color China Photo)

Well how about stop-motion embroidery? The stitching and re-stitching of threads over and over for one measly frame of animation. It might be just me, since I'm not very good at sewing, but this has probably got to be one of the most tedious (but definitely beautiful, charming, and well-executed!) types of stop-motion I've ever seen. I definitely need to give props to the embroiderer (embroiderist?)...I take back all the whining I've ever done about claymation.

The last video to be made for the 'Places Like This' era... 'Like It or Not' was painstakingly stitched by The crew at Mathematics (who made the AIH clip for 'Debbie'), directed by Josh Logue and interpreted from a coconut concerned psychedelic love fantasy emanating from the stream of consciousness of Cameron Bird.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Advertising Prada's Spring/Summer collection is this colorful video by James Jean. The concept is a bit silly (everything in nature metamorphosizes into a Prada product), but the art style is gorgeous. It reminds me of Okami, Prince of Persia (the new one), or even Odin Sphere. Although the girl walks a bit funny, but I guess you can kinda attribute her to having that "model" walk. The music sounds like Sigur Ros with a female vocalist, but I think it blends well with the video.

this is such a magical place. it's nothing fancy or anything, but it's just a place where people tag images as their favorites (what they refer to as "image bookmarking"), and from those images, they are recommended similar images. it's a great place just to click around for hours and find something inspiring. you never know where you'll end up. unfortunately, this service is by invite only. *sad sad me*

Since I'm currently in the (physical!) process of building my PC (the sexy, silent, stylish powerhouse that it is), I felt this post would be appropriate to match my nerdish fit of excitement.

I happened to come across an old article over Dark Roasted Blend about PC case mods. The article itself is really a giant photo gallery of some interesting mods, some I consider to be ingenious works of art, others which are downright trashy. There are also links to sources that show you the step-by-step process on how those mods were created, which I always find fascinating.

I like cases that show ingenuity, something that makes me go "Oh! Why didn't I think of that?", something where form meets function. Something simple, artistic, elegant, not outrageous for the sake of having a hulking, mechanical beast.

This mod shown above is actually pretty clever. The case itself is made from an IKEA trash can. I like it because it takes something that I commonly see everyday and transforms it into something unintended. Yes, there is a lot of wire tubing, and even a cathode, but the way this was constructed makes it seem clever and innovative. And it looks quite simple. Plus, the trash can itself is $4, so you can't go wrong with that!

No doubt some of you may have already seen the Victorian-era PC mod. I think it looks beautiful, and is truly a work of art and craftsmanship. The flowery/ivy etchings on the sides of the monitor look exquisite, and the adjustable railings look smart. Don't get me started about that webcam (or microphone?), although the mouse looks a bit painful. I like my mice ergonomic and comfortable, thank you very much.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

I see we are breaking form here, and posting things on off days. I am actually fairly happy with the flexibility since I usually find things, and don't want to wait till the next week to post it. Hooray! Anyways, found this neat guy named Levi-van-Veluw (I think) on the web who likes to use his face as a canvas. Check it here. (Edit: fixed broken link -ksoh)

Here are some of my favorites:

Looking back, I guess this could have waited till tomm. Ah well! Anywho, looks like this guy has a good face for what he is doing. I wonder if it would look as cool if his eyes weren't as deep set into his head, or his nose wasn't so prominent. Kudos to him for having the mind and the visage to make this work.

Have to admit though, not horribly excited about half of the sharpie/ballpoint pen work on his face.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Hot on the heels of the last post about the Olympics is this related post. These little guys are the mascots for the Beijing games. They were designed by Han Meilin and each features a motif reflecting an aspect of China's culture. For more info check out their wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuwa

A lot of work went into these guys. The designer went through a 1,000 possible models and suffered two heart attacks during their creation.

I think it's awesome that the designer would even work on them considering his past. He lived through some hard times during the Chinese cultural revolution and even had his wrist tendons cut during a session of torture. The ability to use his thumbs was restored after surgery.